--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity…" description: "\"“Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity crisis is our eager embrace of a recently imposed divide: the Red States and the Blue States. That color map ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/barbara-kingsolver-200_identity-crisis_symptomatic-of-this-rural-urban-identity_2033873.png" --- # Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity crisis is our… ![“Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity crisis is our eager embrace of a recently imposed divide: the Red States and the Blue States. That color map comes to us with the suggestion that both coasts are populated by educated civil libertarians, while the vast middle and south are criss-crossed…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/barbara-kingsolver-200_identity-crisis_symptomatic-of-this-rural-urban-identity_2033873.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/barbara-kingsolver-200_identity-crisis_symptomatic-of-this-rural-urban-identity_2033873.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/barbara-kingsolver-200_identity-crisis_symptomatic-of-this-rural-urban-identity_2033873.png) > ““Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity crisis is our eager embrace of a recently imposed divide: the Red States and the Blue States. That color map comes to us with the suggestion that both coasts are populated by educated civil libertarians, while the vast middle and south are criss-crossed with the studded tracks of ATVs leaving a trail of flying beer cans and rebel yells. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. But I certainly sense a bit of that when urban friends ask me how I can stand living here, "so far from everything?" (When I hear this question over the phone, I'm usually looking out the window at a forest, a running creek, and a vegetable garden, thinking: Define everything.)”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques the simplistic red‑blue divide, noting cultural differences between coastal liberal enclaves and the more rugged, self‑reliant interior, and reflects on personal feelings of displacement. **In simple terms:** Red‑blue politics oversimplify deep cultural gaps. Key Takeaway Recognize nuance beyond color labels. Themes identity politics culture urban‑rural divide Mood reflective analytical contemplative Type essay opinion When to use this quote - discussing political identity - exploring personal roots - analyzing media narratives Key Concepts regionalism political polarization personal geography Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “home” in a divided nation? - What role does geography play in shaping values? A Different Perspective The essay may romanticize rural life, overlooking systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-crisis/) [Vegetable garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vegetable-garden/) ## Related quotes > [I ALWAYS HAVE DONE WELL HOWEVER IN BLUE STATES AND RED STATES. 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Bush defeated Al Gore by the slimmest of margins in Florida -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-murphy/the-closely-divided-presidential-election-of-2000-in-which-george-w/) [Patrick Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-murphy/) > [People in red states and blue states can agree that we are a nation blessed with extraordinary natural wealth and beauty, which we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/people-in-red-states-and-blue-states-can-agree-that-we-are-a-nation/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [... Urban friends ask me how I can stand living here, 'so far from everything?' When I hear this question over the phone, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/urban-friends-ask-me-how-i-can-stand-living-here-so-far-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“I certainly sense a bit of that when urban friends ask me how I can stand living here, “so far from everything?” (When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-certainly-sense-a-bit-of-that-when-urban-friends-ask-me-how-i-can/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [They say country music stands for more than the rural life. It's about life, period, whether lived in a high-rise or a hollow. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-whitley/they-say-country-music-stands-for-more-than-the-rural-life-it-s-about/) [Keith Whitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-whitley/) > [Tiredness sets a natural limit to what a human being is prepared to walk daily, and this limit has taught man all through history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/tiredness-sets-a-natural-limit-to-what-a-human-being-is-prepared-to/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Urbanization is not about simply increasing the number of urban residents or expanding the area of cities. More importantly, it's about a complete change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/urbanization-is-not-about-simply-increasing-the-number-of-urban/) [Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/) > [Smart habitation is an integrated area of villages and a city working in harmony and where the rural and urban divide has reduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/smart-habitation-is-an-integrated-area-of-villages-and-a-city-working/) [A. P. J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/) > [Cities all over the world are getting bigger as more and more people move from rural to urban sites, but that has created enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dundes/cities-all-over-the-world-are-getting-bigger-as-more-and-more-people/) [Alan Dundes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dundes/) > [I grew up in Sudan and Kenya, and lived in both the rural and urban centers of both countries throughout my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-hersman/i-grew-up-in-sudan-and-kenya-and-lived-in-both-the-rural-and-urban/) [Erik Hersman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-hersman/) > [Liberals in blue states just think that they are on the right side of history, and anybody that disagrees with them has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-breitbart/liberals-in-blue-states-just-think-that-they-are-on-the-right-side-of/) [Andrew Breitbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-breitbart/) > [One difficulty in making the Senate work the way it was intended is that America's electorate is increasingly divided into red and blue states,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olympia-snowe/one-difficulty-in-making-the-senate-work-the-way-it-was-intended-is/) [Olympia Snowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olympia-snowe/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Identity crisis quotes > [Error ... is less an intellectual problem than an existential one - a crisis not in what we know, but in who we are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/error-is-less-an-intellectual-problem-than-an-existential-one-a/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [The issue of "who we are" has been an ongoing one. It's part of the ongoing identity crisis of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-l-eck/the-issue-of-who-we-are-has-been-an-ongoing-one-it-s-part-of-the/) [Diana L. Eck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-l-eck/) > [“IF A PROBLEM PERSISTS for generations, it is no longer a crisis. It’s a condition. The identity crisis facing our faith, our families, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/if-a-problem-persists-for-generations-it-is-no-longer-a-crisis-it-s-a/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“It’s really amazing, isn’t it? Someone can trigger your sexual identity crisis and not have a clue they’re doing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-albertalli/it-s-really-amazing-isn-t-it-someone-can-trigger-your-sexual-identity/) [Becky Albertalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-albertalli/) > [I've suffered from an identity crisis my entire life. It's why I went into acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-ve-suffered-from-an-identity-crisis-my-entire-life-it-s-why-i-went/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [I did community theater and kids programs at professional theaters and plays at school and voice lessons for seven years. I stopped because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-did-community-theater-and-kids-programs-at-professional-theaters/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [“Atoms at such low temperatures lost their individuality and physical properties, going through an identity crisis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meeks/atoms-at-such-low-temperatures-lost-their-individuality-and-physical/) Christopher Meeks > [As far as the industries go, in the North, they think I'm a South Indian actress; down South, I've always been thought of as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamannaah/as-far-as-the-industries-go-in-the-north-they-think-i-m-a-south/) [Tamannaah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamannaah/) > [The self divided is precisely where the self is authentically located. . . We all have identity crises because a single identity is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/the-self-divided-is-precisely-where-the-self-is-authentically-located/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [“I don't think I could ever live with either a man or a woman for a long time. Male and female are attractive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-thirlwell/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-live-with-either-a-man-or-a-woman-for-a/) [Adam Thirlwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-thirlwell/) > [There was no identity crisis in the life of Jesus Christ. He knew who He was. He knew where He had come from, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/there-was-no-identity-crisis-in-the-life-of-jesus-christ-he-knew-who/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [To change man, the audience by which he judges himself must be changed. A man is defined by his audience: by the people, institutions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-rhinehart/to-change-man-the-audience-by-which-he-judges-himself-must-be-changed/) [Luke Rhinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-rhinehart/) > [“Bastard children were born from lust and lies, men said; their nature was wanton and treacherous." — Jon Snow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/bastard-children-were-born-from-lust-and-lies-men-said-their-nature/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [If I ever found a place where I belonged, that in itself would be an identity crisis to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitski/if-i-ever-found-a-place-where-i-belonged-that-in-itself-would-be-an/) [Mitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitski/) > [“Repentance, rebirth, and conversion were exchanged for cheap grace, and the integrity of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus faded. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/repentance-rebirth-and-conversion-were-exchanged-for-cheap-grace-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) [Browse all 105 Identity crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-crisis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Symptomatic of this rural-urban identity crisis is our eager embrace of a recently imposed divide: the Red States and the Blue States. That color map comes to us with the suggestion that both coasts are populated by educated civil libertarians, while the vast middle and south are criss-crossed with the studded tracks of ATVs leaving a trail of flying beer cans and rebel yells. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. 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